Lyle Lovett is an americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, … Read Full Bio ↴Lyle Lovett is an americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, who has been described as "the thinking man's cowboy". While typically associated with the alt-country genre, his albums typically incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country & western styles. The Night's Lullaby Songfacts reports that after twenty-six years with Curb, Lyle Lovett released his eleventh and last album for the record label, Release Me, on February 28, 2012. The record is mainly made up of covers that Lovett has played, but never got round to recording.

The four-time Grammy winner has acted in a number of films and been a guest-star on television. Lovett was married to actress Julia Roberts for a short time in the mid-1990s. In 2002, he was gored by a bull while working on his uncle's farm in Texas, but soon recovered and resumed touring.

La To The Left
Lyle Lovett Lyrics

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La to the left
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off
Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling
Mother was good to me
How then else could she be

I was a child of her own
But the children the little ones
They talk with the devil's tongue
La to the middle is falling
La to the left
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off
Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling
Father was good to me
How then else could he be
I was a child of his own
But the children the little ones
They talk with the devil's tongue
La to the middle is falling
La to the left
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off
Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling
You were no good to me
How then else could you be
I was a child of my own
And the children the little ones
They talk with the devil's tongue
La to the middle is falling
La to the left
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off

Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Lyle Lovett's song "La To The Left" seem to describe a situation of family dysfunction and the breakdown of relationships within it. The repeated refrain of "La to the left, La to the right, La to the middle is falling" suggests an impending collapse, perhaps of the family structure, or of a relationship within it. The singer reflects on their relationships with their parents, acknowledging that both mother and father were good to them when they were children, but that something has changed. The verse "But the children the little ones, They talk with the devil's tongue" implies that there is some kind of discord or dishonesty amongst younger members of the family that is contributing to the disintegration of the whole.

Line by Line Meaning

La to the left
Move towards the left

La to the right
Move towards the right

La to the middle is is falling
The center is becoming unstable and collapsing

I saw her walking off
I witnessed her leaving

Out in the morning light
In the early part of the day

Mother was good to me
My mother treated me well

How then else could she be
It's the only way she could have acted

I was a child of her own
I was her biological child

But the children the little ones
However, the younger generation

They talk with the devil's tongue
They speak deceitfully

Father was good to me
My father treated me well